Funny story, a writer once inserted his manuscript into a moviemaking robot machine, only to realize later that the climax was missed. But the movie was already released. To fix this, he made a prequel. The machine laughed for hours. The Thirty-first century was crazy.
Mr. Campbell unlocked the door of his one-room apartment. The door creaked and opened.
“There you are,” the door said. “Welcome. Happy birthday. Do you have a mother? Of course, you have. Let me ask a valid question…do you have friends, or maybe a sweetheart you want to say goodbye to?”
“Will I come back?” Mr. Campbell asked furiously.
“Death, in the most simplest terms, means going somewhere and not coming back. Ever,” the telephone on the bedside table rang and explained.
“You have lived long enough. It’s been one-thousand years, Mr. Campbell. Today is your birthday and you have to die. The time has come and there is no escape,” the door said, closing itself.
“Which reminds me to call that DRONE EXPRESS CAKE SHOP,” the telephone said and then dialed.
Mr. Campbell produced a packet of cigarettes from his jacket, pulled one out, and lit. Clouds of smoke soared and stood motionless and then evaporated slowly. His throat rattled as he coughed. He smoked too many cigarettes which made him smell as if he lives inside a humidor, and he always shot sighs that sounded like a shrill swirling inside a pipe. The cold room, the frostbitten silence, and the smell of smoke blended with the final comfort of not having to live anymore. The plodding thousand years have come to an end.
According to the 80922-TW amendment to the Future of Humanity Constitution, the ‘Chosen Thousand’ group of people were injected with a chemical called Hayflick that extended their age limit to thousand years, not to mention allowing them to live thousand different lives. A unique life each year. A part of military science research expedition under the guise of a ‘future of humanity’ experiment. It was a cellular immortality phenomenon. The chemical surpasses the Hayflick limit, which is a restricted number of natural cell divisions that a normal cell experiences in order to undergo biological aging.
All the thousand faces and realities that Mr. Campbell had lived did not strike him as original. The charm of existence through these years unfolded and stretched out ahead of him with the unadulterated monotony of passion, which always had the same essence but just different colors and shapes of human façade. Futile speeches and blank metaphors satisfied humans. He thought about it for long enough to feel sad (as it always happened whenhe thought about life).
“A thousand lives means thousand good opportunities and a thousand different faces to face the world with. Thank almighty for giving you a chance, for having included you in the Chosen Thousand,” the telephone offered its opinion.
“Who will die? From all the thousand versions, thousand faces I have put up, death is coming for which me?,” Mr. Campbell asked.
“Does it matter? In this universe and all other universes, there’s just you and the almighty,” the door answered.
“All you. Everyone who will be ever born and will die, all are you by the grace of god. You are different incarnations of each and every being on all the planets that ever existed”
“With each new life, you were expected to grow mature, a step closer toward the greater intelligence, the ultimate truth,” the door faintly emphasized its tone
A drone buzzed at the doorstep for a few seconds. It dropped the cake and took a flight back to its shop.
Mr. Campbell brought the cake inside and placed it on the table. The door creaked, the typewriter click-clacked, the telephone rang – everyone joined in unison, cheering, celebrating Mr. Campbell’s birthday and deathday. The curtain just fluttered, its message couldn’t come across as it failed to qualify under the radar of the real-time translation unit for inanimate things.
A dull feeling possessed Mr. Campbell. No thoughts came to him. He sat motionless and felt like an object – an object celebrating his special day with other objects, which is to say his apparent companions and roommates.
“We all are here for you. Smile a little for us. We are your roommates. And It’s your birthday!” the typewriter said.
The door wanted to hug Mr. Campbell, but in its language, it slammed over his body and said, “Live long, friend. You are a hero with thousand faces.”
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This story was a fascinating and intriguing exploration of the concept of immortality and reincarnation. The author created a vivid and dystopian world where a man had to live a thousand lives and then die on his birthday. The story was full of surreal and dark humor, as the man interacted with his talking door, telephone, and typewriter, who seemed to know more about his fate than he did. The story also raised some philosophical questions about the meaning of life, identity, and the role of god. The writing style was crisp and engaging, with vivid descriptions and dialogues. The ending was unexpected and thought-provoking, leaving the reader wondering about the ultimate truth. This story was a creative and original piece of science fiction that I enjoyed reading.
‘A Hero With Thousand Faces’ is one with an in-depth meaning. Its layers unfold as we read through. The story incorporates multiple layers or intricate elements which first feel confusing but also intriguing to the readers.
The main character of this story has a very interesting role as he is someone who had a thousand lives ie. a thousand opportunities and thousand different faces in his lifetime to explore as he was someone who got selected in the ‘future of humanity’ experiment where a group of people were injected with a chemical called Hayflick that extended their age limit to a thousand years allowing them to live thousand different lives. Only a group of a thousand were selected for this experiment.
According to this experiment, the chemical surpasses the Hayflick limit, which is a restricted number of natural cell divisions that a normal cell experiences to undergo biological ageing.
According to the author the character has completed his lifetime of a thousand years and it was the last day on which he celebrated his birthday. He lives in a one-room apartment and he was surrounded and accompanied by inanimate objects include the typewriter, door, curtains, and telephone.
Throughout the story, we could see different objects having a conversation with Mr Campbell. They were being sadists at first by teasing him for not having anyone to say a last goodbye and then they gave him positivism as he was able to be one of the lucky thousand people who were chosen for the experiment. They contacted the bakery and ordered a cake for him to celebrate his birthday, making noises as he cut his cake.
The story ends when the door slams to wish him his birthday hoping to hug him.
The writer skillfully interweaves elements of speculative fiction and philosophy. The meaning implicit in the phrase “A hero with thousand faces” is justified in relation to the lives he had lived. Although at the end, he didn’t find any of them original, yet an important point driven home is the eternal relation between the Self and the Almighty where the former manifests itself on Earth in various incarnations. The central theme is that as each incarnation of the Self dies, it unites with the Almighty, who is the ultimate truth.
Overall, a brilliant piece of speculative writing that uses metaphor of “faces” to underline the principal philosophical idea of the Absolute and the Self.